THE POWER OF FORGIVENESS
Allen Drake sat there in the court room for a week, listening to the testimony that the state had compiled against him. He was guilty; he knew that. There was no denying it. He was the one who went to the bar. He was the one who drank all of that alcohol. And he was the one who got behind the wheel of the pickup truck. Those were the facts. Plain and simple.
What I wouldn’t give to have that night back, he thought. That night had been 8 months ago. The young woman he had killed that night when his truck swerved into her lane had been named Meredith. She would have been 18 years old next month.
In the past week he had learned a lot about the young woman. That night she had been on her way home from a babysitting job. She was a very active member of her church. She sang in the youth choir. She played on the varsity volleyball team at her high school and she always made the honor roll. Had it not been for him, she would have attended college in the fall to fulfill her dream of becoming a youth minister.
Not a day went by when he didn’t wish that he would have been the one to die in that crash. The guilt was becoming unbearable. And now, here he sat waiting to hear his fate. The jury had come back with a verdict, but as he sat there waiting for the jury to enter the court room, he knew that there was no punishment that he could be given, that would be worse than living with the fact that he was responsible for taking the life of such a promising young woman.
As the verdict was read, he sat expressionless. The jury had found him guilty of vehicular manslaughter. The sentencing phase would begin the next morning. He felt empty inside. There was no fear of what was going to happen to him. He wanted to be punished; felt that he deserved it. Maybe being punished would make him feel something. He would find out tomorrow.
The judge brought the court in session with a bang of the gavel. After all the legal talk of the prosecution and defense lawyers of appeals, mistrials, and a lot of other things he didn’t understand, it was time to hear from the victim’s family. That was when the judge asked the mother of the victim if she would like to address the court. As she stood and walked to the podium Allen’s heart sank. He held his head down unable to even look at her.
“Your honor, my name is Janice Alden. I am Meredith’s mother. There are no words to tell you how much my daughter meant to me. I wouldn’t even know how to begin to tell you the depths to which her father and I loved her. Nor would there be words adequate enough to tell you how proud we were of her. There are so many things I could tell you about her. If there were one thing I would like people to know about Meredith, it would be that she was a Christian. She knew Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior. She was strong in her faith and because of this I have peace in knowing that I will see my precious child again.” Swallowing the lump in her throat she continued.
“Mr. Drake,” she said, “would you look at me, please?”
It took every ounce of strength in his body to raise his head and look into the face of the mother of the girl that he had killed. He would have rather died than look at her, but he could not deny her this. If she wanted him to look at her while she told him what a horrible monster he was, he would give her that satisfaction. It was the least he could do.
“Mr. Drake,” she said, “I want you to know that I pray for you. I ask God to comfort you and give you peace.”
He began to tremble. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
She continued to look at him as she spoke, “The past eight months have been the hardest of my life. I have been through so many emotions from sorrow to anger and everything in between. But God has held me through it all. I won’t stand here and tell you that I’m not angry at you because of your actions. However, I can tell you that through prayer and the grace of God, I am able to forgive you.”
Tears fell from his eyes. “How can you forgive me,” he cried. “I don’t deserve your forgiveness.”
Fighting back her own tears she looked at him and said “Because God forgave me, when I didn’t deserve it. Jesus shed his blood to wash away the sins of the world, Mr. Drake. And His blood is even powerful enough to wash away your sins. If I relied on my strength alone, I wouldn’t be able to forgive you, but it is through Christ who strengthens me. May God bless you.”
Turning toward the judge, she said “Your honor, I ask for leniency for Mr. Drake.” Then she turned and walked back to her seat.
Time served and 3 years probation. He couldn’t believe it. He lay there in his own bed replaying the events of the day. He couldn’t get Mrs. Alden’s words out of his head. How was it possible that she could forgive him? Why didn’t she hate him? He hated himself. Why did God spare his miserable life? Why? Why? WHY?
He felt like he was suffocating. He wanted to cry, to scream. He would do anything to make this emptiness in his soul go away. As these thoughts and questions raced through his mind, he threw the blanket off of himself and stood beside the bed. He didn’t know what to do. He thought he was going crazy. Then Mrs. Alden’s words flooded his mind again, “Jesus shed his blood to wash away the sins of the world Mr. Drake.” Allen fell to his knees, and for the first time in his life, he began to pray.
Five years later, Allen walked up the steps to the home of Janice Alden. Answering the door, she recognized him immediately.
“Mrs. Alden, I’m sure you must be shocked to see me,” he said. “But if I could have just a moment of your time.”
“Yes,” she said.
“First of all, I would like to say I’m sorry. I never actually told you how sorry I am for my actions that night.”
“I forgave you a long time ago,” she said.
“Yes ma’am. I know you did but, I needed to tell you. I also need to say thank you, Mrs. Alden. That day in the court room you forgave me and said it was not by your strength but through Christ who strengthened you. Well I just couldn’t understand how that was possible. You told me that the blood of Jesus was more powerful than my sins. When I went home that night, everything you said just kept running through my mind. I want you to know Mrs. Alden that I got down on my knees that night, and prayed.”
Tears began to spill from the woman’s eyes.
“I gave my life to God that night. I asked Jesus to come into my heart and save me and forgive me for my sins. It was because of what you said to me, that I am now a Christian. I needed to come here and say thank you for leading me to Christ and to tell you that I am now a youth pastor.”
“Meredith was going to be a youth pastor,” she said softly.
“Yes ma’am. I remember,” he said. “I won’t take up anymore of your time Mrs. Alden. Thank you for all you have done for me,” he said as he turned to go.
“Mr. Drake,” she called. “Would you like to come in for a cup of coffee?”
“Yes ma’am. I would like that very much,” he replied as he walked back up the steps.
In the days and months to come Allen and Mrs. Alden visited each other often. Somehow they found comfort in their unlikely friendship. More importantly they found peace through the power of forgiveness.
[justify]
Home 
Publications 
Spotlight 
Jesus 
I am so glad you found the strength to post your work for us to read. I really enjoyed it. Hopefully, you'll find another story buried in there some where to share with us. I think you have some great talent.
